The city of New York has agreed to pay $7,500 in a settlement for wrongfully arresting a sculptor who was carrying a knife for his work.
The arrest came when an officer improperly classified his legal blade as a banned "gravity knife," which opens with a flick of the wrist and locks, according to an advocacy organization.
"New York City's outrageous persecution of those with common pocket knives must end," said Doug Ritter, chairman of the activist Knife Rights organization.
"Knife Rights will continue to fight these unconstitutional abuses by the city until we win," he said.
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The owner of the knife was identified only as Jonathan W., at his request, to protect his identity, the group said.
"Jonathan was carrying a Spyderco UK Pen Knife with a non-locking blade in New York City when he was arrested for possession of an illegal 'gravity knife.' After considerable effort the charges in the case were dismissed and Knife Rights then referred Jonathan to attorney Richard Holzberg of Ernest Holzberg and Associates," the organization reported.
"Holszberg recently obtained a settlement of $7,500.00 for Jonathan's wrongful arrest, incarceration and malicious prosecution for carrying a pocket knife that was New York City legal, even considering the city's continued unconstitutional application of state law against owners of common folding knives."
The organization explained that an officer approached the artist and asked to see his knife.
"According to Jonathan, the officer unsuccessfully attempted to open the knife several times using a so-called 'wrist-flick.' He then opened the knife blade halfway with two hands and finally managed to flick it open from there. At that point, even though the knife clearly couldn't be opened with only a wrist-flick and, and even more to the point, had no locking mechanism, the latter a key element of the state gravity knife definition, the officer placed Jonathan under arrest," the group said.
The wrong arrest claim was filed after the charges were dismissed in court.
The advocacy organization said: "If you believe you have been falsely arrested in New York City for possession of an illegal knife as Jonathan was, or for any reason, you must act quickly! A false arrest claim against NYC must be filed within 90 days of the arrest or you may be legally barred from filing a false arrest claim. It may well be useful to speak with an attorney who specializes in false arrest claims before your underlying criminal case is resolved, because a conviction may preclude you from filing a viable false arrest claim."
Most Second Amendment disputes have centered on firearms, but Wayne LaPierre of the National Rifle Association says the knife-rights defense team "is the second front" for the Second Amendment.
"They are the premier grassroots organization protecting our right to own knives," he said.
"I have plenty of criminal case files chock full of examples of innocent, unsuspecting, law abiding folks having to fight their way through the justice system to 'prove their innocence,'" writes attorney Evan Nappen on the website.
"The fundamental criminal due process protections which are of the most use and vital importance to knife owners may be summed up as three simple constitutional concepts for providing the best chance at not becoming a victim of an anti-knife prosecution. These three primary rights can be remembered by the acronym: S.A.C.," he wrote.
The initials represent to remain silent, to ask for a lawyer and to not consent for any search.
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